GMF brings together hundreds of policymakers, elected officials, academics, and business leaders from around the world to discuss topics from energy to migration, economics to security, urban growth to diplomacy.

BUILD: Urban Innovation and Leadership Dialogues

At the inaugural convening of BUILD in 2014, GMF launched a unique forum for leading transformative change in cities that supports greater sustainability, inclusion, and global engagement. The diversity of voices and experiences represented at BUILD facilitate a rich transatlantic policy dialogue, while also focusing on the specific leadership tools needed to advance change at a local level. While the annual conference is an important opportunity to convene the BUILD network, GMF also focuses on supporting the movement from big ideas to local action. By embedding BUILD themes into its core transatlantic peer learning activities and supporting individual action by network members, GMF extends the impact of the conference and furthers its mission of strengthening the transatlantic relationship. Explore our previous editions of BUILD below and our current activities in 2018:

BUILD 2015: deepened the exploration of the core themes of sustainability, inclusion and global engagement by exchanging concrete policy tools and leadership tactics to move from ideas to action. Host City: Bilbao, Spain

BUILD 2016: added a new dimension to the exploration of urban transformation — the impact of the digital age on the people, places, and economies of transatlantic cities. Host City: Bilbao, Spain

BUILD 2017: highlighted how transatlantic cities have proven resilient despite disruptive dynamics challenging established paradigms in the global political and economic order. While there is a greater urgency to respond to challenges at home, there is also an increased opportunity for cities to play a more prominent role on the global stage by advancing sustainability, economic inclusion, security, and democracy. Host City: Detroit, Michigan

BUILD 2018: strategic focus on moving from ideas to action through GMF programming on specific policy issues and supporting activities by individual BUILD network members through mini-grants.